Jacob Helps Out
Plot Snow was pouring on the tracks on Sodor. The engines had all come out of their sheds but James. It was very cold outside, and James didn't want to come out of his warm shed. "I don't want the snow to ruin my paintwork!" he complained to his driver. "Enough of this nonsense James," sighed the driver, "Lets fit your snowplough." James snorted as the snowplough was fitted. "Come on, we've got to take a train to Ballahoo." James was cross and huffed out of the shed. James collected some trucks at Crovan's Gate. "Careful out there James," warned Rusty, "There's a lot of snow on the Skarloey Railway, and I'm sure there is on the Norramby line too." "Pah! I can handle snow, thank you. Goodbye." and James stormed out of the station. Rusty was worried. James puffed onto the Norramby Branch Line. The smell of saltwater lingered in the air, even in winter. "Ugh!" James fumed, "Fish and snow in one combination is horrible!" He rushed past the Fishing Village. "Slow down James," warned Arthur, "The fish oil may cause the tracks to be slippery." "Pah!" huffed James, "Any slower and I'll be late!" "Is he always like that?" asked Nicholas. "I'm afraid so," replied Arthur, "That's James. He's as boastful as you can imagine." Nicholas frowned. "I see. He's going to be in trouble soon." James' snowplough cut through the snow. They were almost at Ballahoo by this time, but his driver was worried. "This looks like a major snowstorm. We probably should go back. We could get stuck in the snow." James wanted to go back too, but before he could say anything, his driver shouted. "Oh lord, look at that!" "What?" Then James realized what his driver saw; a giant pile of snow, taller than James, was blocking the tracks. There was no way James' snowplough could cut through that. "Brakes, driver, brakes!" cried James, but it was far too late. James smashed into the snow with a loud thump, and even more snow started to bury him. "Help!" cried James, but his voice was muffled by all the snow. Luckily his crew got out of the snow, but nobody knew where they were. "I'll see if Donald and Douglas are available," suggested James' fireman and he telephoned Donald's driver. Donald's driver picked up his cell phone and answered the call. "Ello?" "We're in trouble Lawrence. Try and see if you can come and help us." "I'm sorry," sighed Donald's driver, "But I'm afraid we're in a rush to rescue Stanley." "What?" Donald and Douglas were at Great Waterton, and Stanley had been buried in his shed. "Och aye Douggie, lets try again." "Aye Donal', but we best be careful. We don't want that thing to fall on him." "Just get me out of here!" cried Stanley. "Oh, I see," sighed James' fireman. "Try Terence." suggested Donald's driver. James' driver agreed and hung up. He then dialed another number and called up Farmer Collett, who was currently driving Terence on a road by Crovan's Gate. "Oh howdy! Oh sure, Terence isn't required at the moment anyway. We'll be right over." and Farmer Collett hung up. "Come on Terence, we've got to rescue James." Terence was excited. "Yes sir!" and he started to chug towards Ballahoo. As he rolled along the road, he could see piles of snow towering high. "Oh, I'm not entirely sure I can get James out of one of those." "We'll do our best," said Farmer Collett, but even he was a bit worried about what might happen. At the snowdrift, James was still stuck, and his crew were trying to dig him out, but with the heavy snow it was hopeless. Terence drove in with Farmer Collett. "Oh my," gasped Terence, "That's the tallest snowdrift I've seen in years." "You can do it, can't you?" "We'll see," said Terence solemnly. James' trucks were heavy, so they had to drag them out of the way, one by one. This took quite some time. By the time they were finished, it was starting to get late. "Come on!" cried James, but he was still muffled by the snow. "That was hard," groaned Terence, "I doubt I'll be able to get James out of there." "What?!" cried James' driver. "Sorry," sighed Terence, "I'm more used to plowing, which doesn't take much effort. But getting engines out of snowdrifts does. I usually only get small engines out, not huge engines." James' driver sighed. "Who is strong enough to get James out then?" Terence thought for a moment. "I know! Jacob!" "Who?" Jacob was Farmer McColl's tractor. He was running away from a bull. "Ah! Get away you fiend!" But the bull just grunted and tried to strike. Luckily Farmer McColl stopped the bull before it attacked. "Thank you sir. I always hated bulls." "I see." teased Farmer McColl, "Must be why you hid behind the barnhouse when that bull was running loose." Jacob blushed. "Erm..." Suddenly the phone went off inside the house. Farmer McColl looked up and frowned. "Harsh weather's here. We better get inside." "Good idea. I hate snow." grumbled Jacob, "I'll be in the barn with the cows if you need me." Farmer McColl picked up the phone and ran outside. "Jacob! You have to go to James at Ballahoo!" Jacob was shocked. "I can't drive to Ballahoo! My tyres would break off!" "Oh stop." grumbled Farmer McColl, "You just hate long runs." "No seriously, I can't run in all this snow. I'd get stuck myself!" Farmer McColl sighed. "I suppose you have a point. I'll get somebody to take you." Jacob was excited. "Oh great! I've never been carried before!" Farmer McColl rolled his eyes as he telephoned Ffarquhar. Emily was shunting at Ffarquhar when the stationmaster ran up. "Emily, we've got an urgent matter on our hands." Emily stopped shunting and looked over. "What kind of situation is it?" she asked. "James is stuck in deep snow, and Terence can't pull him out by himself. Jacob's at Farmer McColl's Farm and we need you to take him to Ballahoo." Emily was surprised. "What about the shunting?" "We'll think of something," said the stationmaster, "Now go!" Emily puffed away, quite unsure of the situation. She chuffed to the farm, where Jacob was waiting on a wellwagon. "Oh joy, it's you again." Emily frowned; she and Jacob never got along so well, mostly because Jacob didn't really like her paintwork. He always said she looked like a cucumber. 'Cucumbers indeed!" she scoffed. She puffed off, ignoring Jacob's rude remarks. Snow was still falling, and it was now nighttime. The workmen had to get flashlights in order to see. "Ugh, he's hopeless. Lets go back; my wife's waiting for me with some nice hot cocoa." one said. "Oh come on, your wife's cocoa tastes horrible. I should know Tom; I visited your house." his friend said. The workman rolled his eyes. "Shovels aren't going to do us any good." sighed James' driver, "Lets hope Jacob arrives soon." "I can try again," offered Terence. "No, lets save your strength," said Farmer Collett, "You and Jacob can pull together as a last resort." Terence sighed and looked back; they could hear a distant chuffing noise, then a familiar whistle. "If I remember correctly," said Terence, "I believe that's Emily." Sure enough, the Stirling Single puffed on the scene and stopped. "Oh goodness me! Don't tell me James is stuck in there!" Emily cried. James' crew nodded. "I'll get him out," boasted Jacob, "I am ultra strong." Terence rolled his eyes; he had heard Jacob's boasting before. James' driver hooked up a strong chain between Jacob and James. "Aw, stop stalling; I'll pull him out easily!" said Jacob and he started to pull. Terence frowned as he saw Jacob tug. His engine roared, and his headlights burned through the dark, but he was beginning to struggle. "Come on, Rusty Red!" huffed Jacob and he pulled. James' back buffers showed up, but by that time Jacob was tired out. "Oh jeez, James is heavy!" "We don't have any other options," sighed Farmer Collett. "Unless... I have a grand idea!" cried Terence. Everybody looked at him. "What is ''your idea?" asked Emily. "Jacob and I can pull together." suggested Terence. Farmer McColl grinned. "That is a grand idea indeed! Come on Jacob." Jacob scowled. "All right, all right..." Soon James' driver got another cable and put the cable on James' left buffer, and attached it to Terence. Jacob's cable was now on James' right buffer. The driver shouted, "Alright, we'll pull on one... two... three!" Terence's trends dug into the snow, as did Jacob's tyres. Jacob was already tired, but he still had strength in him. "Come on! Come on!" Jacob grunted. "We'll do it! We'll do it!" said Terence. A few minutes passed before James' tender was out of the snow. "We'll do it!" said Terence. Jacob panted and looked at Terence. "We ''will ''do it," Jacob said, determined. Terence was surprised; usually Jacob was grumpy, and never acted determined before. Jacob chugged his hardest. After many minutes of tugging, James was free. "I can breathe!" cried James. "Yee haw, good show!" called Farmer Collett. Everyone clapped and cheered. Emily whistled. "Well done!" she said to Jacob and Terence. Jacob grinned slightly; he had never been praised before, besides not getting chased by a bull for one day. James' crew jumped into James' cab and started him up. James was pleased to feel warmth in his boiler again; it had been freezing cold under all the snow. "Well, I'll clear the snow now," said Terence, "After James got out, the snowdrift's my size." "All right, if you think you can handle it," said Jacob, 'Come on Cucumber, lets get back to the farm. I want to get in the barn and relax for a while." Emily was cross, but decided to say nothing. As Jacob was loaded onto the flatbed, Terence chugged up to the track. "You performed great at the snowdrift," he smiled. Jacob chuckled. "Of course. I am ultra strong, as I said!" Emily and Terence glared at him. "Sorry, i couldn't resist." Jacob grinned. Terence chuckled. "Alright then. See you around Jacob." Jacob smiled slightly. "Bye." and Emily towed him back to Farmer McColl's farm. As they made their way home, Jacob was thinking. "Helping another engine felt nice," he thought. Soon, Emily and Farmer McColl were at the farm again. Daisy was passing by. "Well hello Jacob," she scowled. Jacob scowled back. Emily sighed; the old Jacob was shining through again, although she couldn't help thinking that Jacob was turning into a decent tractor. Jacob was unloaded and was soon tucked in his barn and he quickly fell asleep. Characters * James * Emily * Donald and Douglas * Daisy * Arthur * Stanley * Rusty * Terence * Nicholas * Jacob * Farmer McColl * Farmer Collett * Billy ''(cameo) * George (cameo) Trivia * The episode Max, Monty and the Bull is referenced. Category:Sodor Adventures